Rockhampton students sweet support for Australian farmers

WHEN it came to supporting farmers, Year 6 students Maya Elkhishin and Carrie Mtize both agree not many campaigns taste as sweet as this.

In an effort to show support to the farmers affected by the strawberry contamination scandal, students and staff at Rockhampton Girls Grammar lined up at morning tea to enjoy some fresh strawberries and ice cream.

"Now that all the shops have stopped selling them, the farmers have to throw out all their strawberries and that's not fair," Maya said.

"They do so much for our community and for Australia and without them we couldn't really have any of the things that we do at the moment."

For classmate Carrie, throwing out perfectly good fruit seems like a waste.

"It's not really okay to be throwing out all the strawberries that they grow just because people have found needles in them," she said.

"You can still eat them, you just have to cut them up rather than eating them whole."

Principal Christine Hills said it was important to show the students the value of getting behind an important cause and showing their support.

"We've been watching this unfold and a lot of these girls come from rural backgrounds," she said. "You've got people out there who have put crops in and now are dumping them, so it means a lot to these girls. It's about 'how do you make a statement of support for another group'.

"We have seen the footage of strawberries being dumped, that's their livelihood, a lot of these girls come from western Queensland where the drought is really biting, so the girls really understand that."

"It is very natural for them to be involved in this type of activity."